James Playsted Wood was born on December 11, 1905, in Brooklyn, New York, to William Thomas and Olive Padbury Hicks Wood. He earned two degrees from Columbia University, a bachelor's in 1927 and a master's in 1933. While working on his master's degree, Wood taught English at Du Pont Manual Training High School in Louisville, Kentucky, and continued teaching there until 1937. From 1937 until 1946, he was a member of the English department at Amherst College in Massachusetts, beginning as an instructor and eventually becoming an assistant professor. A member of the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, Wood served in the Pentagon office of the chief of staff, General George C. Marshall. He became a major and earned the army commendation medal. During the war, on August 14, 1943, he married Elizabeth Craig, a teacher of Latin, French, and Greek.